In each issue of Paleo Magazine, I share the story of a traditional recipe and adapt it to fit into a healthier Paleo lifestyle. In a recent...
Read MoreCranberry Waldorf Salad
http://www.MelJoulwan.com/2011/11/15/cranberry-waldorf-salad/
My mom has been making Cranberry Waldorf Salad on Thanksgiving day for as long as I can remember. We think the recipe was a hand-me-down from her much-adored sister (and my favorite aunt) – my glamorous, eccentric Aunt Polly. We always ate this “salad” along with our dinner even thought it sorta kinda resembles dessert. It’s sweet (apples, grapes) and tangy (cranberries), with the tender crunch of pecans and luscious cream holding it all together.
The original recipe called for 1/2 cup white sugar, a bag of miniature marshmallows, and a whole container of Cool-Whip! Since it includes so many sugary, forbidden things, I thought this favorite recipe was off the menu. But then I put on my Whole30 hat. I replaced the Cool-Whip with coconut milk, let dried apricots stand in for the white sugar, and eliminated the marshmallows all-together. (I never liked them much anyway.)
With all the fresh fruit and dried apricots, this is definitely a once-a-year treat, and I’m thrilled that this taste of tradition can be on our Thanksgiving table this year, without worrying that I’ll hurt myself by indulging.
Cranberry Waldorf Salad
Ingredients:
1 can full-fat coconut milk (Thai Kitchen works best.)
12 ounces fresh cranberries
16 dried apricots
1 pound seedless grapes, cut in half
2 medium apples, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup pecan halves
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
This requires a bit of forethought: place a can of coconut milk in the refrigerator, ideally overnight, but 3-4 hours will do. Also, this salad works best if you do the prep, let it sit overnight, then assemble shortly before eating. Trust me; it will be worth it!
Directions:
1
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Put your mixing bowl and beater in the freezer.
2
Wash the cranberries and set a few aside for garnish. Place the rest in the bowl of a food processor with the dried apricots and grind them until the mixture has the consistency of relish. (It’s OK! Go ahead… sneak a little bite. It’s tangy and delicious!)
3
In a large bowl, toss the cranberry-apricot relish with the cut apples and grapes. Cover tightly and place in the refrigerator so they can get to know each other. Forget about them until the next day.
4
Meanwhile, spread the pecans on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast for 5-7 minutes until golden. Keep an eye on them; they can burn quickly. When they’re cool, chop the pecans and set aside – be sure to save a few unchopped for garnish. Resist the urge to eat them immediately. If you’re feeling lazy, you can use untoasted pecans; it will be fine.
Assembly:
1
When you’re ready to assemble the salad, take your can of coconut milk out of the fridge — don’t shake it — and put it in the freezer for 10 minutes, then…
2
It’s time to make the whipped cream! Remove the mixing bowl and beater from the freezer. Carefully open the can of coconut milk without shaking it, and scoop the thick, coconut cream into the chilled mixing bowl (toss the liquid that’s left over). Add the vanilla extract and beat the mixture on the highest speed of your mixer until it looks like whipped cream. This takes about 5-7 minutes.
3
When the cream is done, place the chopped pecans and fruit relish in a large bowl. Gently fold in the whipped cream and garnish with whole cranberries and nuts.
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GYOD!!
Wow Mel!!! This looks soooo scrupmtious! My tummy rumbled when I saw the pictures. Will give this a try.
When is your book coming out?
The date is still a little in flux, but we’re targeting December 6 for the release. Fingers crossed!
A mildly less fruity waldorf salad, but in my opinion still delicious, is apples, pecans, and celery. it has a good crunch and sweetness, but the celery brings it down a notch. excited to use the coconut whipped cream this year!
Cate, that’s a great idea! I leave the celery out of mine because… shhhhh… I hate celery. For real. BUT for people who like celery, it’s a great substitution for the grapes.
Awesome idea for summertime! Thanks!
So…is an acceptable variation of this recipe to make the coconut cream and eat it with a spoon? Just that part?
I have a known whipped cream problem so I *MIGHT* eat coconut whipped cream with a spoon sometimes. Maybe.
Holy cow!! I can’t wait to make this – probably tomorrow. Thanksgiving is at the station this year, and I’m trying to make it as Paleo as possible. Thank, Mel!
Hooray! Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I’m making my Cranberry Waldorf tomorrow, too.
Delicious! Everyone at the fire station loved it – as did my house guests, roommate, fiancee, etc.
This ROCKED!! Thank you for bringing cranberry sauce back to my Thanksgiving!! It was so darn good that I kept swiping spoonfuls before it even got to the table. Apricots + cranberries is a brilliant combo…ditto the advice to make that part ahead of time, so they could blend flavors. Yuuummm and thank you thank you thank you!!
I made this for Thanksgiving today! I couldn’t get the whipped cream to look like yours in the picture but I’m hoping it’ll still be just as yummy! Any hints as to how to get it to look more like whipped cream? I used a metal bowl to hopefully get it colder but it just didn’t really get “whipped” looking!
When I made it on Thanksgiving, my whipped cream didn’t get quite as fluffy either. It was still thick and worked in the salad, but it didn’t get the fully whipped texture this time. The only thing I can suspect is that different brands have a slightly different fat content. I’m going to investigate and will update the recipe with the best brand. Thanks for letting me know!
I have attempted this 3 times-each time with a different brand of coconut milk- still no luck
Thai Kitchen ALWAYS works!
Awesome thank you!
Just made mine! Double recipe for a HUGE family gathering. From the few nibbles I had it was SUPER delish. Can’t wait to have a big serving later! YUM!! Thanks for the recipe. It’s a great paleo fruity treat.
Hooray! Did you learn the secret that it tastes even better the next day? It doesn’t look quite as pretty but dang! it tastes good. Happy, happy!
I made this yesterday and it was amazing! Like Kathryn, I couldn’t get the coconut milk to whip up like yours, but nobody cared. It was delicious!
Thank you for sharing the recipe with us.
Awesome — glad you liked it! In case you didn’t see my response to Kathryn:
When I made it on Thanksgiving, my whipped cream didn’t get quite as fluffy either. It was still thick and worked in the salad, but it didn’t get the fully whipped texture this time. The only thing I can suspect is that different brands have a slightly different fat content. I’m going to investigate and will update the recipe with the best brand. Thanks for letting me know!
Hi Mel,
For fluffier whipped cream, I have always heard to use a glass bowl (not metal), to be sure that your bowl and beaters are absolutely free from any oils (even from your fingers), and if you can, put bowl & beaters in the freezer the night before and leave until ready to use. I know this helps.
I haven’t tried this 2nd suggestion, but I wondered if you put the coconut milk in the freezer for just 15 mins, then transfer it to the fridge. This might help it get a lot colder, and the colder it is, the better it will whip. I’d be afraid to leave it in there longer than 10 or 15 mins. though, to avoid and freezing or ice crystals forming. I would give this suggestion a couple of tries before recommending it, but if anyone out there wants to try it, it could be a solution for flat cream.
Just a thought: i have a recipe that calls for whipped canned milk. We usually do the bowl in fridge, beaters, etc., but also if you live where there is snow, get a huge bowl of snow(or ice from fridge works in summer)place the bowl of milk on top of the snow and wah lah it beats up like a dream!!!
HA! I love that! And much more “paleo,” no?!
Thank you SO much for posting this recipe! I’m so PSYCHED that I can have a whipped cream look alike now! This will be on my Thanksgiving menu from now on! (And Christmas and family gatherings and…..
Love this recipe. I made it for one of my Thanksgiving sides and it was great. I followed your directions for the coconut milk and felt like the cream came out pretty fluffy. It just took a while. (I did have truwhip in the fridge just in case…..but didn’t need it.). Thanks for posting! I am excited to learn about your site, Mel.
Glad you enjoyed it — and I’m glad you found me. Thanks for joining our little crew 🙂
Just wanted thank you for this recipe – it was SO delicious! My husband’s eyes got wide with excitement when he took his first bite.
I took the suggestion of another commenter and substituted celery (2 sticks) for the grapes and omitted vanilla extract to make it less dessert-y. It was phenomenal! Tart, crunchy, and slightly sweet. The apricot flavors really emerged today (2 days later).
Right on! Glad you enjoyed it. I love how well the leftovers hold up. We’re finishing the last of ours today… sad 😉
Fantastic recipe! I made this and the coconut-almond green beans. Both were a hit. The whole family liked these green beans better than the old traditional 🙂 I think I’ll be making both recipes a lot in the future.
YAY! Glad the recipes were gobbled up — and that’s great news about the green beans.
This recipe turned out delicious! I was concerned that it would be too tart to please my non-Paleo boyfriend and guests, but the flavors melded nicely and everyone loved it.
Right on! Glad you all enjoyed it — the apricots do a great job of sweetening it up. YAY, apricots. And coconut milk, naturally 😉
Love this recipe! Could you tell me how many ounces your bag of cranberries was please? I have seen so many different ones.Thank you!!
Sorry! I meant to update the recipe… it’s 12 ounces of fresh cranberries. Enjoy!
great- thanks! i was using an 8 oz so i’ll go add more! 🙂
I’m doing Whole30 and vanilla extract isn’t compliant. Is there something I can replace it with?
You can just omit it without affecting the recipe to much.
I want to try this recipe for thanksgiving. I’ve got some coconut creme in my pantry. Would that substitute? Thoughts?
Yep, that will work!
How far in advance can this be made and still be yummy and the right consistency? (I wouldn’t add the garnish pecans until just before serving.)
My husband and I love this recipe so much. It keeps well in the fridge even though it doesn’t last that long bc it’s so yummy! 🙂